Early enteral nutrition in critically-ill patients

Table 3 A summary of studies on the effects of early enteral nutrition on pancreatitis and its outcomes

Ref.	Type of study	Study population	Outcomes
Li et al[49], 2013	Meta-analysis	11 studies involving 775 patients with acute pancreatitis	EEN associated with significant reduction in both pancreatic and systemic infections
			EEN associated with reduction in hospital length of stay
Song et al[50], 2018	Systematic review and meta-analysis	10 randomized controlled trials comparing EEN to late EN or TPN	Significant reduction in the rate of multiple organ failure, along with reduced rates of systemic infections and local septic complications in the EEN group
Liang et al[51], 2024	Systematic review and meta-analysis	20 trials including 2168 patients with acute pancreatitis	Reduced hospital length of stay and lower cost of hospitalization in the EEN group

EEN: Early enteral nutrition; EN: Enteral nutrition; TPN: Total parenteral nutrition.